Messy Busy Season

Kia Ora,

It’s Matariki public holiday today in Aotearoa New Zealand! It is so good to have another public holiday in winter and one rich with meaning.

I was recently walking through the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and came across these beautiful furry magnolia buds. They reached out to be touched and make me smile. Good things happen in dormant seasons. I’m enjoying the break from gardening while working on my podcast (for a sneak peak revisit last post’s recordings). An older friend has reminded me that it is good to reward yourself and to do this in creative ways. I think by focusing on things that bring us pleasure in winter, it can foster hope in what can be a difficult season. I’ve been rewarding myself more with a treat drink and have found myself more motivated to get things done.

Q: How do you reward yourself in winter?

On a different note, I have friends who have had babies this year. It has reminded me how those early years were precious and busy. Sometime ago I wrote a reflection on living in that season and doing this when unwell. I’ve revisited it and thought I’d share it with you.

Messy Busy Season

Our Father gives us what we need for every stage of our lives. There is always fresh hope for our lives no matter what state we’re in.

Amidst the season of having a young family, there is the messiness -the busyness of caring for babies and young children. Then there can also be the unplanned events such as sickness, physical or mental health challenges, deaths, disappointments, earthquakes, financial hardships, and the list can go on. The truth is we sometimes have to live with more than one major life challenge in any stage of life. Having a mental health challenge doesn’t change our likelihood of suffering in other ways. If only it did! This may sound strange, but I’m honestly thankful we were in a busy season of life when I became mentally unwell. When I was home from hospital, life demanded that I get up each morning and care for our baby and toddler as well as keep the house running. These routines such as laundry, food, getting to and from kindy and school helped with my recovery. I was also comforted by having the kids physically close to me. If my acute illness and recovery had happened in another season we would also had the grace and strength needed to manage it. The busyness of that season in my life helped me, while it was also demanding when I was suffering. God provided a way through the valley for us as a whānau. Our Father gives us what we need for every stage of our lives. There is always fresh hope for our lives no matter what state we’re in.

Quiet Times?

To be a mother as is to be constantly connected to the heart of God. It involves less quiet as children drop daytime sleeps. Changing expectations for what a ‘quiet time with God’ looks like is vital if you want to share in the pleasure God takes in you, and your pleasure in what you do. You probably already know this but – many people who don’t have a baby aren’t reading their Bibles. So why not take the weight off and enjoy Him? Perhaps you could write down one verse that stands out to you, place it where you’ll see it, and be reminded of those words. Pray naturally about your feelings and thoughts as they comes to mind. Short and simple prayers are good – even simply being present to feeling love for a child can be prayer.

Making Connections

If we are open to new possibilities we can have needs met within our limitations.

Meeting with friends can be a challenge in this stage of life too. I remember praying with a friend when we would meet with our little ones. We had a thing going that we would catch up on life, and then pray together until our voices were drowned out by some child’s cry. Then we would split like a banana. I came to enjoy the suspense of how many more words we could fit in before a baby lost the plot!  It was so refreshing to pray with a friend, as too often it fell in the too hard basket. It didn’t need to be perfect. Fish and chip dinners with friends can be a hit with low fuss, cost and clean up. I was all for easy food during those times of low energy. I knew of a small group that took week about for the men and for the women to go – so as everyone got to participate. Jono and I hosted a small group before I became unwell. It it was a wonderful time that worked because we could host our friends who were single or without kids. Talking with someone a season ahead of ourselves has been helpful too. If we are open to new possibilities we can have needs met within our limitations. Let your church know if there are factors are preventing you from connecting with others. We need to trust God to make a way through and connect with others in the stage we are in.

Q: Do you have friends you who can pray with? If not what’s a step you could take towards this?

Please share this if you know someone in this busy messy season who would benefit from the encouragement.

Have a great Matariki weekend,

Bronnie Tressler